Throwing my Switch up the Wall!!!!!!

I am typing this so angry right now. Not because Super Meat Boy is terrible (quite the opposite) but because last night I was on one level for about an hour. This game frustrates the hell out of me. I want to rip the hair out of my head, I want to smash things. However, Super Meat Boy is one of the most addictive games that I have ever played in my life.

Super Meat Boy is already out on other consoles, although playing it on the Nintendo Switch is the first time I have to go grips with the game, apart from a quick go I had at fellow Game Hype Writer Aaron’s house a while back now. Team Meat are only a small indie team but they’ve done really well with Super Meat Boy on console and a follow-up, Super Meat Boy Forever is due to be released later this year. However, this is about Super Meat Boy and Team Meat’s decision to bring the game to the Nintendo Switch. Let’s just say it is paid off.

Super Meat Boy is perfect for a console like the Nintendo Switch. It is a 2D platformer where you play the role of Super Meat Boy, a cube of meat that is looking to save his girlfriend Bandage Girl from the evil Dr Fetus across many different worlds. It’s a basic story, and to be fair you won’t really pay that much time to the story, more to the action that happens on the screen.

It won’t take you long to to get grips with the control scheme of Super Meat Boy, that’s for sure. You basically run and jump. Yes, that’s it, as easy as it was back in the Mario and Sonic days. There is no inventory or special attacks here folks! With each level, you have to guide Super Meat through the course in order to get to to Bandage Girl at the end. It sounds pretty simple right? No, No.. NOOOOOO. This is where Team Meat are scoundrels at best, especially their level editors. The first chapter eases you in, making you feel like “Oh, this game is easy”…. A few levels in, and especially when you get to the latter chapters (there are 7 in total). I’m currently nearing the end of Chapter 5 but I’m not embarrassed to say that I haven’t finished the game yet. If you’re reading this thinking “oh, I could of finished it by now”, I’ll sit you down with some of the levels and bosses and see you say the same thing after about 30 tries! I lost count the amount of times I just missed a jump within a fraction of a second or I just hit the edge of a spike causing me to completely restart the level again. Oh yeah, checkpoints are a thing of the past with Super Meat Boy!

That’s right yes, there are bosses at the end of each world which are extremely difficult. You basically have to get to the end without the boss catching and killing you. Think of it like the Labyrinth zone only around 10000x harder. What I will say about the difficulty is that you will get to grips with it eventually. Keep trying and trying and you will prevail. What you’ll also find is that each level has a marker. If you can beat it within the time slot, you’ll get awarded a medal for that level. It’s definitely one to aim for, only some of the levels I didn’t even attempt! (Although, I’m a sucker for punishment so I know I’ll keep coming back)

Keep coming back is definitely something you will do with Super Meat Boy on the Nintendo Switch. Within each world, you have a light and dark version of each. The darker versions of the worlds are more difficult versions of the levels that you may have already completed. I tried a few, completed a few, died on a few, give up…. Yup, I think I’ll stick to my light worlds!

The art style of Super Meat Boy is so simple, yet such a joy to go through. I also enjoy the tense music that comes with it. If you have got it on the PlayStation 4 already, I’d still very much advise that you get it on the Switch for the Race mode. With someone with you, you can each use a JoyCon each and race through the levels to see who is the Super Meat Boy champion, or what I like to call it ‘who will rage-quit first?’. Playing with a family member, they insisted that this game was ‘impossible’ or ‘it wasn’t doing what it wanted them to do’. No it did, it just they weren’t good enough. Super Meat Boy has one hell of a learning curve, not because of the controls which are super-easy, but because you need to learn when to jump right at the right time.

A Nintendo Switch Review code was provided by Team Meat